Marco Huck: "I dominated Povetkin and gave him a beating"

In one of the most exciting heavyweight title fight in recent years, WBA Champion Alexander Povetkin (24-0, 16 KOs) defended his belt against Marco Huck (34-2, 25 KOs). The 32-year-old Russian was off to the better start but seemed to tire when Huck hit him with huge power punches. The WBO Cruiserweight Champion had a huge seventh round, but Povetkin fought back and bruised his opponent´s face in the 11th. Both fighters gave it their all in the 12th, with Huck firing in some more power shots to wrap up a spectacular encounter in style. The judges scored the bout 116-113, 116-112 and 114-114 in favour of Povetkin. “It was a dramatic, a very exciting and a very close fight,” Hall of Fame Promoter Wilfried Sauerland said. “Marco surprised me, he put on a very courageous performance throughout the entire 12 rounds, which I found very impressive. I thought Alexander maybe was not in the shape he should have been to win more convincingly. Maybe he underestimated Huck. But that is something for the trainers to analyse. It was a great evening for boxing. It showed that there are still exciting fights in the heavyweight division.”

Povetkin said: “It was a very tough fight, very difficult. Maybe I took him a little too lightly and underestimated him a bit. But I am happy to have defended my title. I have no doubts that I won the fight.”

Huck disagreed: “It was an honour for me to be in the ring with someone like Povetkin, who is an Olympic gold medal winner and a world champion at the amateurs and pros. And I dominated him and gave him a beating. I think the crowd is right – I won this fight. He could barely stand after 12 rounds and the judges make him the winner. I think I won. I am sure the fans would love to see a rematch.”

Ulli Wegner lauded his fighter for a courageous display. “I am very proud of Marco,” he said. “The result is what it is, I will not comment on that. But let me say that I am proud of what I saw tonight. A small cruiserweight moving up to heavyweight and making such an exciting fight against a proven and experienced champion like Povetkin. He was still wobbled when they announced the scores. I just wish Marco had been a little smarter in the crucial moments. What I don´t understand, though, is why the referee never warned Povetkin for taking down his head.”

Povetkin´s coach Alexander Zimin commented: “It was a very close fight. The two fighters have different styles, Alexander usually tries to box and throw combinations while Huck rushes in for occasional attacks. Today I think Alexander tried too hard to land the one big punch. This was our first fight together so we will need some more time to work everything out.”

Next up for Povetkin is the mandatory defence against Hasim Rahman. Said promoter Kalle Sauerland: “We will sit down with everybody to see what the future holds. This was a fantastic fight. We promised a big bang and Alexander and Marco certainly delivered. It was a great night of heavyweight boxing.”